ATF ruling on autosears and receivers

Posted by David Hardy · 2 June 2008 10:28 AM

ATF Ruling 2008-1 is here, in pdf. On its face, it changes the definition of which receiver half is legally the "firearm" for an FNC rifle.

What is of concern is part of its reasoning. There are autosears for the FNC; if installed these allow it to fire full-auto. Autosears have been held to require NFA registration, as a device designed to allow automatic fire; each one is serial numbered, registered, and traditionally treated as the registered machine gun. To the best of my knowledge, it was never argued that putting one into a semiauto made the remainder of the semiauto a machinegun with a separate registration requirement. But this Ruling's reasoning is that since you would have to drill and mill a semiauto FNC receiver to accomodate the autosear, doing so would make the receiver a full-auto receiver, and violate the 86 ban.

You almost wonder if somebody in the NFA Branch is setting the ATF up to lose a lawsuit. Certainly all the people who paid top dollar for papered FNC auto sears could make a very good case that the ATFs inconsistent rulings have cost them a mountain of money.

From a careful reading, what they say regarding other FN rifles is pure horse manure. The FN FAL and CAL upper (and in fact, actual) receivers, while containing the bolt and providing an attachment point for the barrel, also accept ("receive") the magazine. Under the old way of thinking, the FNC lower contains the fire control group and accept the magazine, just like the AR lower. Under this ruling, the FNC and the AR, while functionally identical, have differently classified receivers. This is a very troubling ruling.

"Background: agencies are supposed to follow detailed rules when issuing a "regulation": publish a proposal in the Federal Register, receive public comment, then publish a final rule with preamble answering the major comments. Plus comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act, Regulatory Reform Act, etc.."

I don't think this is a "letter ruling." Letter rulings, at least as I understand them, are written in actual letters to specific people who have made inquiries to the BATFE about this, that, or some other firearms issue.